The Eyes Have It
by Jelsemium
Summary: A raid on an animal smugger's home puts Don's life in danger. Author's Note... This is an AU fic that contains Megan AND Nikki because I like both.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Eyes Have It

Rating: K+

Word Count: 3,400

Dedication: To Auntie Amy and Suisan

Special thanks to my Beta: DigeeDiva!

* * *

"Got it!" David Sinclair waved the search warrant like it was a battle flag.

"That was fast," Nikki said in admiration. In her experience, first as an LAPD officer and now as an FBI special agent, search warrants rarely appeared as fast as they did on TV shows. "Who did you bribe or blackmail?"

"Neither, oh ye of little faith," David told her as he slapped the warrant into Don's hand. "I did it the way we do everything here."

"Really?" Megan Reeves asked. "How did Charlie's math help get us a search warrant?"

"Judge Esperanza took my 'Math for Lawyers and Jurists' class," Charlie's smug voice came over their earpieces.

"Yeah," David said. "Thanks to Charlie, she understood the whole social network concept. That and the exotic bird price list that he and Larry decrypted tipped the case in our favor."

"Show off," Don said, not unkindly.

"Why, thanks, Don," Charlie responded.

"Of course it didn't hurt that Judge Esperanza is an animal lover," David added. "She knows enough about the animal smuggling industry to be appalled at how rare animals are abused and killed in the process."

"Well, good for her," Colby said. "Can we get on with this? I'm tired of beating on the door of a woman who refuses to acknowledge our existence."

"I'd think you'd be used to that by now," Nikki smirked.

Don shot them both a quelling look, to which Nikki responded with an unapologetic shrug and Colby responded with a 'why me?' look.

"Are you sure that Tammy Early is in there?" Larry's concerned voice came from the same place as Charlie's had... a conference room in the FBI offices on Center Street.

"Well," David said. "Her car is here, she hasn't been seen at work for two days, her credit cards haven't been used since she booked passage to the Bahamas online yesterday evening and we tracked her cell phone to here."

Don said. "All right, cut the chatter, people! Let's move in. Megan, take David and Nikki around back."

Megan nodded, pulled her gun and moved back, followed by Nikki, who had also pulled her piece. David's revolver remained holstered because he was lugging a battering ram.

"Colby, would you care to avenge yourself on the snub you received by taking out the door?" Don asked.

"Why, thanks, Boss, you're all heart," Colby said with a predatory grin. He took over the battering ram from one of the waiting cops and proceeded to turn the front door of the innocent looking tract home into kindling.

Don and Liz beat Colby into the house and fanned out.

They could hear the rest of their party coming through the back door, or, judging by the sound, coming through the back wall.

The smashing wood disturbed the inhabitants of the living rooms, who were in full cry as the Feds swept the place.

"FBI, we have a warrent!" Don bellowed over the birds.

"Wow, look at all these birds," Liz said. "I wonder how they kept the neighbors from hearing them."

Don and the others gazed in wonder at the plethora of feathered fauna.

"Those are beautiful," breathed Megan.

"Spectacular," Colby agreed. "I've never seen birds like this before. What _are_ these things?"

"Birds of Paradise, I think," Don said. He looked up as David and Nikki joined them.

"Kitchen's clear," David reported. "But I would never eat any food that was prepared in there."

"Too many birds?" asked Colby after he had put the battering ram down and came inside.

"Nope. She's got fish. I swear, I've never seen so many live fishies since I went to Sea World," Nikki added.

"Now what?" Colby.

Don scanned the room. "Nikki, Megan, Colby, take the upstairs. David, Liz, you're with me."

Don and his group moved out of the living room into the hallway. There were three doorways in front of them. Two on the left and one directly in front.

Megan led the way up the stairs. They found five doors leading off of the second floor landing. The flooring was padded and they made almost no noise as they eased down the hall.

Granted, anybody who didn't know they were in the house after all the smashing and yelling had to be deaf, but the Federal Agents still did not see any need to be reckless.

Megan surveyed the doors and gestured toward the first one to Colby's left.

Colby stepped into the room. His report of "clear" was interrupted by an oath and a shriek.

The other two held position. Nikki kept her attention on the rooms in front of them as Megan took a step back to peer cautiously into the room.

"You okay, Granger?" Megan asked.

"That wasn't me screaming," Granger reported. "It was this spotted kitty cat." He looked around the room again. "One of these spotted kitties."

"Leopards?" asked Nikki. She was dying of curiosity, but she restrained herself from looking.

"Sounded more like an ocelot," Larry commented.

"I think Larry's right. They're too small to be a leopards... I think," Colby said.

"Are they loose?" Megan asked. She took a step into the room and looked for herself.

"Nah, they're in cages," Colby assured them. "They're alone in the room." The room contained nothing but the three cages in a cork lined room. Even the window was boarded over and covered with cork.

Since there wasn't even a closet to hide in, Megan silently concurred with Colby's conclusion, not that she actually ever doubted Colby's competence. They moved back into the hall to join Nikki.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Don and Liz checked the first room, which had bamboo mats lining the walls and carpeting the floor. Dozens of bamboo cages hung from stands or stood on graceful, marble topped tables. Each cage held two or three white birds, who were making a tremendous racket.

"Cockatoos," Don identified. "My mom had one like this, but I think hers was bred in California."

"I hope so," Nikki murmured.

Megan gave her a sour look and sent her into the next room. She followed, of course, to watch the newbie's back.

This room had red indoor/outdoor carpeting and the walls were covered in dark red drapes. There was only one cage in there with one occupant... a full grown white tiger.

"Yow!" Nikki said. "Tiger!"

"I wonder if they got this when Siegfried and Roy retired," murmured Megan.

Now it was Colby's turn to restrain himself from taking his attention from the unchecked rooms. "How the hell do you smuggle a full grown tiger into a suburban house?" he wondered.

"Well, according to our records, the houses on either side, and the house directly across the street are empty," Charlie said from his comfy chair in the warm FBI office, far away from loud, smelly animals. He'd run a quick check after Liz had wondered about no one hearing the birds.

"Thanks, Charlie," Don said.

"Nice kitty," Nikki said as she backed out of the room. "Hey, how come you keep getting the pretty birdies while we get the nasty cats?"

One of the ocelots squalled from the room that they had cleared, apparently in protest.

"Yeah, well, so's your momma!" Nikki snapped over her shoulder in the direction of the ocelots.

David stepped into the second room, checked it out and backed out hurriedly. "She's not in there," he reported.

"What's in there?" Liz asked, curious about David's uncharacteristic timidity.

"Snakes," David reported. "There's nothing in there but stacks of shelves with aquariums filled with snakes. The walls are lined with them, but there's nothing in the middle of the floor."

"Lovely," Don murmured. He looked in the door, but wasn't tempted to go in farther, especially when he noted that the aquarium closest to the door held a snake that was bigger around than his thigh and whose head was on a level with his own.

The boa stuck its tongue out.

Don withdrew his head.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Megan ducked into the second bedroom. "Clear... except for a really big lizard."

"Alligator?" Don asked.

"No, monitor lizard... maybe," Megan reported.

The upstairs bathroom held nothing but an old, cracked toilet and a huge stainless steel sink. The fourth bedroom held cartons of food and a waist high floor freezer that held what was obviously dinner for the big cats.

There were also several cages of rodents of various sizes.

Megan, Nikki and Colby peered into the cages at the tiny inhabitants.

"They're smuggling rats now?" Colby murmured.

"Must be for the reptiles," Nikki said.

"They have politicians here?" Colby wondered out loud.

Nikki muffled a snort.

"Keep focused, people," Don warned.

He ignored the murmurs of assent from upstairs as he and Liz moved into the last room. It was twice as big as the other rooms, probably had been two rooms at one time.

The atmosphere was that of a jungle camp. The floor was carpeted with a plush green carpet covered with throw rugs of varying shades of green and several animal skins that may well have been real.

The windows were shrouded in heavy green velvet drapes. The walls were covered with bamboo mats and carved wooden masks. The king sized bed in the middle of the room had a mosquito netting canopy. There were no animals, but there were several potted plants that Don thought were orchids scattered about.

Off to Don's right was another door, presumably to a bathroom. Don could hear splashing noises that made him wonder if there was a fountain in there.

The whole lush and luxurious atmosphere was ruined, however, by the blonde woman that was sprawled among the rugs.

"We found her," Liz reported into her wrist mike.

"Why do I have the feeling this isn't good?" Colby asked.

"It's not good for us," Don said. He circled the body warily, eyes sweeping from side to side. "Definitely not good for her."

"Well, she's down," Liz reported. She pulled her latex gloves out of her pockets and snapped them on. Then she knelt next to the body and gently felt for a pulse. "She's gone."

"Damn," Don said. He studied the room and the woman on the floor. He'd wanted to stop the woman from smuggling animals. However, he hadn't wished this on her.

David looked at the woman sadly. "Such a waste," he sighed. He looked at Don. "You think the other smugglers are behind this?"

"Maybe," Don said. "It's certainly going to make it harder to catch up to them."

"We still have our think tank to help," Nikki said.

"Thanks, Nikki," Charlie said, obviously pleased. Don smirked a little to himself, Charlie was very susceptible to flattery. He did not, however, stop looking for signs of the murderer.

"What killed her?" Megan asked.

Liz shook her head, even though she was well aware that Megan couldn't see her. "I can't tell, offhand. There's something greasy around her eyes, and several scratches. Maybe acid?"

Don had seen plenty of dead bodies, but there was something about this one that made his stomach knot up. He pulled off his goggles and forced himself to lean over to take a closer look.

"Would acid kill her?" Colby asked.

"Would acid look greasy?" Nikki wondered.

"Is the acid thrower still around?" Charlie asked.

There was a slight noise from the door to the next room. Both Don and Nikki's head snapped around as if drawn by the same puppeteer.

David stepped part way into room. "Guys, get up here," he said into his radio.

Don moved cautiously into the other room. A quick look showed nothing, so he took a few more steps inside. His shoes squelched through a large puddle on the ground. He slipped and dropped his goggles as he tried to catch his balance.

When his footing was firmer, he glanced around to find his goggles.

Liz moved up to the doorway to the bathroom, and David stayed in the doorway to the hall.

Something on the floor moved, catching Don's eye. He had a confused impression of a black, tubular object partly raised off the floor, and then the world vanished in a blaze of pain and fire.


	2. Chapter 2

"SNAKE!" howled Liz, drowning out Don's cry of pain. He staggered backwards, then swung around. His arm caught the edge of the door and it slammed shut with a click.

He heard Liz's gun boom.

"Liz!" he called.

Liz swore. "It's around here somewhere, David, look out!"

"What's going on?" Megan demanded.

"There's a snake in here. I think it's a cobra," Liz called. "It's disappeared into all these damn rugs."

"Don, are you okay?" Charlie called anxiously.

"No, I've got something... my eyes..." Don called.

"Did it bite you?" Liz called.

"No," Don said. "It's my eyes," he repeated. The burning was horrific. "I can't see." Automatically, Don reached up.

"DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYES!" Larry bellowed.

With fierce determination, Don kept his hands away from his face. He remembered the scratches around Early's eyes and wondered if this was what had happened to her.

"Donnie?" Charlie sounded very young.

"Don, rinse your eyes out, quickly," Larry said urgently. "But you must take care not to allow the venom to get into any open cuts or sores."

Don couldn't remember any cuts on his hands, but he had latex gloves in his pocket. A few minutes ago, the act of pulling the gloves on would have taken seconds. Even without his sight, the process took less than a minute, although it seemed to take forever.

What were the symptoms of cobra poisoning? Was he going to die like this?

There was a choked noise from Charlie.

"Don?" Liz said.

Don heard her try the door knob, but the rattling noise informed him that the click that he had heard was the door locking itself.

"Don't panic," Larry added, possibly as much to Liz and Charlie as it was to Don.

"What?" David demanded.

"What happened?"

"Don got spat on by a cobra," Liz said. "I can't get to him."

"Where did that damn snake go?" David said, sounding just a trifle panicky himself.

"The spitting cobra's venom is generally thought to be a deterrent," Larry insisted. "As long as the venom does not get into Don's blood stream, he has a very good chance of pulling through this."

The pain was increasing, but the panic receded. Larry, who so often played the role of comic relief, was sounding like the polymath that he truly was. If he said that Don could pull through this, Don believed him.

Which meant he'd better rinse his eyes out, stat. He felt his way to the splashing water and slipped on the damp floor. He found the edge of the tub and cold water quickly soaked his sleeves. Apparently the tub was overflowing.

He couldn't worry about that yet. He leaned over and cupped his hand to direct the water over his eyes.

The burning subsided a small, but noticeable, amount. What were the signs of cobra poisoning, Don wondered again. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to ask, though.

He splashed more water over his face.

"Don, are you all right?" Liz called anxiously.

"Hell, no," Don replied. "Where's the snake?"

"I don't know," Liz stopped trying to force the door and her voice faded as if she had turned away from the door.

"The cobra has probably shot its wad, so to speak," Larry informed them.

"Probably?" Charlie and David both picked up on that one. Charlie a trifle more shrilly than David.

"It will seek shelter," Larry said.

"Looks like he found it," David muttered. "I don't see him anywhere."

Don's hand encountered cloth and he used that to wipe his face. The cloth felt like silk. "I've found a towel," he reported.

"Don't rub at your eyes," Larry ordered. "Blot, but keep rinsing."

Don obeyed. His leg began to cramp. A sign of the poison? Or was it just his awkward position?

"There!" David exclaimed. "Is that it?"

"Maybe you can capture the cobra alive?" Larry suggested.

Liz swore and the deep boom of a Glock indicated that she had opened fire.

"Or not," Larry said in resignation.

"Sorry, Larry," Liz said.

"I take it the cobra is now to be referred to in past tense?" Larry said.

Charlie said a few words that Don wouldn't have thought his baby brother would even know.

"Don't swear at me," Larry said in hurt tones.

"Don't be so flippant," was the gist of Charlie's answer.

Don was beginning to feel cold, possibly because he was kneeling in ice cold water. At least, that was what he hoped was causing the chill.

"Sorry, Charles," Larry murmured. "I was not... Don? How are you?"

"Still here," Don reported.

"Good," Larry said. "How do you feel?"

"My eyes feel like hell," Don said.

"He's not...?" Charlie couldn't bring himself to finish.

"The fact that he can answer is the answer to that," Larry said. "Cobra venom is frighteningly efficient."

"Thanks," Don muttered.

"Don? Are you away from the door?" David asked.

"I think so," Don reported.

The splintering of the door heralded David's arrival into the bathroom.

"Man, that's one dead snake," Colby reported as he and the other two women arrived.

"We'll call an ambulance," Nikki said reassuringly.

Megan vetoed that plan. "We'll take him. Don, can you walk?"

"Help me up," Don said, he held out his hand and David pulled him to his feet. The movement made him dizzy and he staggered.

Liz moved up beside him to steady him.

"Keep wiping the venom from his face," Larry instructed.

"I'm on it," Liz promised.

The trip to the hospital took on a nightmarish aspect. The pain, which the cold water had alleviated, returned with a vengeance.

Don had to fight to keep himself from pawing at his eyes. He sprawled in the back of an SUV, with his head on a stack of towels that were piled on Liz's lap.

His ex alternated pouring water over his eyes and gently wiping the venom from his face.

The emergency room personnel were taken aback at the nature of Don's injury, but they rallied. They poked and prodded as gently as they could, but it still caused the pain to escalate.

Finally, the doctors were convinced that no venom had entered Don's system and they deposited him into a private room. There wasn't much they could do aside from making sure that the venom was completely removed from Don's face and to give him something for the pain. Then they let nature take its course.

By then, Charlie, Robin and his father had arrived in the hospital and were more than willing to give Mother Nature a hand with this.

Don spent a restless night, the painkillers not helping much. He managed to doze between gentle ministrations to his eyes.

Around 1 AM, Don's vision began coming back. He pulled the cold compress off his eyes and managed to focus, somewhat fuzzily, on Robin's face.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Robin said. She took his hand and patted it.

"You okay?" Charlie blurted from behind her. His brother came around Robin and sat next to Don's other side.

"Been better," Don rasped. "My head hurts. My eyes hurt. I can barely see."

"But at least you can see," Alan Eppes moved into sight. At least, Don assumed the shadowy bulk behind Robin was his father, judging by the voice.

"Yeah," he said.

"You look like crap," Charlie said.

Don tried to glare, but his head hurt too much for that. He probably did look as bad as he felt.

"Charlie!" Alan reproved.

"Well, his eyes are so bloodshot that he looks like he's been on a bender!" Charlie protested.

Don felt like he had the world's worst hangover, but he didn't want to admit that to Charlie. "So, what happened back at the house?" he asked.

"The woman is dead and so is the snake," Robin confirmed. "The ME should have a full report for us later today, but we're liking the snake for her death. The other animals, including the so sensitive birds, seem to be in good health. Whatever her failings, she was good at taking care of animals."

"David brought in zoologists from the LA zoo," Charlie added. "They checked the room with the snakes in it and one of the cages was empty."

"I hope there was only one escapee," Don muttered.

"Well, the herpetologist said that putting more than one cobra in a cage isn't usually a good idea," Charlie reported. "Besides, Early kept detailed records and every animal is accounted for."

"Including the snake that Liz shot?" Don asked. He settled back in his bed.

He could see Charlie nod. "Um, yeah," Charlie added, apparently thinking that Don might not be able to see him.

"There will be an investigation into the shooting," Robin said. "But I'm pretty sure that it will be judged a righteous shooting."

"I'd hope so," Alan said.

"Yeah," Don agreed. "Especially since it looks like the cobra killed Early in cold blood."


End file.
